When I Comforted My Sickly Stepsister, She Couldn’t Live Without Me - 05 - Responsibility as An Older Brother

After having dinner and feeling satisfied, I lay on my bed and read manga. Personally, I think the quickest way to relax is to laze around. Humans are at their best when they have nothing to worry about. By the way, I haven’t finished my homework yet.

“(Hmm, is it this late already?)”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and then got up from the bed with a grunt.

The destination, of course, is Yukine’s room.

I knocked on the door twice and called out.

“Yukine?”

As if she was waiting, the door opened, and Yukine greeted me shyly, bowing her head.

“Please… come in, Nii-san.”

“Yeah.”

And so, visiting Yukine’s room like this has become a daily routine. If it were written out, it might be titled “The Virgin Big Brother (17) Who Visits His Cute Little Sister’s Room Late at Night”, and it would certainly smell suspicious, but that’s not how I interpret it.

I just visited Yukine’s room to open up her heart and become a real family with her. It’s definitely not as impure as described above.

“What are we going to do today?”

“…I wanted to watch this.”

Yukine pointed at the TV screen.

What she wanted to watch was the currently trending action movie.

“Oh, I wanted to watch that too.”

“I-I see…”

“Shall we watch it together?”

“Y-Yeah.”

As usual, we laid out the cushions and sat side by side in front of the TV.

The movie started, and Yukine and I enjoyed watching it together.

As the story progresses, the hero loses to the villain just before the climax. But then, the heroine encourages the hero, and they have the obligatory intense kissing scene common in Western movies.

“(W- Watching this kind of stuff with my little sister feels kinda awkward…)”

Feeling uncomfortable watching in silence, I decide to start a conversation.

“Do you have anyone you like, Yukine?”

“W- What?!! W- Why are you suddenly asking, Nii-san…!?”

“I- It’s, um, just a topic of conversation, you know?”

Blushing, Yukine looked down.

“(W- Why am I trying to talk about love when I feel awkward during kissing scenes?!)”

As I lamented my beginner-level mistake, Yukine murmured softly.

“D- Do you… want to know if I like someone, Nii-san?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

Feeling there was no turning back, I decided to go through with it. It’s better than staying silent, I guess.

“S- So… um, no, there’s no one I like…”

“Really? Well, okay. Then have you ever had a boyfriend before?”

“T- That’s… no, I haven’t… I’m not really interested in romance or anything.”

“That’s surprising. I thought girls your age would be all about romance.”

“That’s not true! …It’s not true at all.”

Certainly, not all girls are like that. In fact, Imari has been confessed to by many boys, but she doesn’t seem interested in any of them.

“But have you ever been confessed to? I mean, you’re really cute, Yukine.”

“I- I’m not cute!”

“No, seriously, you’re cute. I don’t know if it’s okay to say this to my little sister, but Yukine is the cutest girl I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“W- What?! I- I’m not happy about that! Even if you say that”

“Hahaha, well, that’s true. But don’t worry, I’m your big brother, so even if fall in love with you, it’ll just be as my little sister,”

As I said that, Yukine was somehow downcast.

“…Yeah.”

Still, I feel like there’s a wall in Yukine’s heart.

I think I can get along better with Yukine, but… this isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight.

Let’s take our time. That’s all we can do.

I stretched my stiff body and scratched my head.

“Oh well, someday Yukine will probably get a boyfriend too.”

Somehow, the words that slipped out of my mouth made Yukine’s face tense.

“…I can’t, definitely.”

Yukine replied in a different tone than before.

Looking at Yukine’s face properly, I finally realized it. Since I started this topic, it wasn’t really a joke; Yukine was actually quite serious about not liking it.

Even so, she endured it, pretending… and I, not realizing it and thinking it was just embarrassing, wanted to give myself a good punch.

Trying to change the subject somehow, as I searched for a way to steer the conversation, Yukine began to speak softly.

“…When I was in junior high, a popular boy in class confessed to me. But I didn’t really understand love, so I turned him down. But there was a girl who liked that boy, and she started to hate me because of it. And then I… started to be bullied.”

Yukine spoke of her junior high days for the first time.

I adjusted my posture to listen and tried to resonate with Yukine.

“I was teased, my shoes were hidden. No one talked to me anymore, and I couldn’t go to school because it was so painful…”

“Yukine…”

“So I hate romance. So I could never… like someone.”

Yukine’s words were filled with days of anguish and a firm determination.

With tears glistening in her eyes, Yukine continued to look down.

“And besides, I’m not cute. I couldn’t say anything back, so I just shut myself in, causing trouble for my mom… and for you too, Nii-san. I’m just a useless girl…”

“That’s not true, Yukine.”

“…Huh?”

I looked Yukine straight in the eye, choosing my words carefully.

“Yukine, you’re not a useless girl, and it’s not a bother. I’m sure Fuyuko-san feels the same way.”

“But… but…”

“And besides, it’s not your fault, Yukine, right? The one at fault isn’t you. It’s that girl who got jealous of you because she wasn’t liked, and also the boy who couldn’t help the girl he liked when she was being bullied!”

“Nii-san…”

“If it were me, I’d definitely help the girl I liked if she was being bullied. And if I were Yukine’s big brother at that time, I’d be protesting fiercely enough to storm the school.”

Yukine fell silent and hugged the pillow tightly.

I did my best to convey these feelings to Yukine.

“You’re not at fault at all, Yukine. So you’re not a useless girl. And you’re cute. I guarantee that as your big brother of two months.”

Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my cheeks.

“If anything bad happens from now on, talk to me about it. I’ll definitely solve it, and no matter what, I’ll always be Yukine’s ally.”

With a smile befitting an older brother to reassure Yukine, she hugged me tightly, her face soaked with tears.

“Nii-san… Nii-san!!”

I hugged her gently and continued to stroke her head.

“Will you be on my side, Nii-san?”

“Of course. I’ll always be on your side, Yukine.”

“Uu… Waaaah!!!”

After that, Yukine cried in my arms, letting out everything she had held in.

During that time, I continued to stroke Yukine’s head.

SHINIGAMI-san: would appreciate some feed back